


sea.

by ansutazu



Category: Kagerou Project, Mekakucity Actors
Genre: F/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, post-STR, well the mood sure took a turn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-09-19
Packaged: 2019-07-14 06:58:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16035323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ansutazu/pseuds/ansutazu
Summary: where there is hope, there is always hardship. // shinaya one-shot where they visit the sea.





	sea.

**Author's Note:**

> i had an outro: wings vibe to this at first but then it turned into sea, so now that's what it is. a one hour type of one-shot so it's not much oof.

Spontaneity had never been his forte, nor had it been something he would willingly condone himself to just for the hell of it. Sure, there was no way to stop unforeseen circumstances, but other than that, he would have liked to avoid unplanned events in his day to day life, preferring to stay at home or at the Dan’s hideout out of the blazing summer sun.

Except the very person he was in love with loved spontaneity with every fiber of her being — which, by the way, he had _implied_ his feelings for (and vice versa, with a shy smile that made his heart melt when he looked her in the eyes with stubborn affection that tried so hard to be subtle but couldn’t help itself), though none have said it in their own words quite yet, which…is tragic, to say the least — was two years not enough to muster the courage to tell his feelings to her after she finally came back from the heat haze?

It wasn’t easy reaching their destination, much less find the nearest one from where they lived. They had to take two buses with a transfer in between, though that transfer was almost missed because of the girl idly falling asleep near the stop, head almost resting on his shoulders, startling him so much that he woke her up that way. There was also the incompetence of her map-reading skills, squinting and pouting at the directions, wondering where they were and where they were heading as the wheels on the bus went round and round. There was some bickering here and there, but mild — he couldn’t stay angry at the girl for too long, mostly because the disputes were mostly born out of his own stubbornness and impatience.

This girl’s spontaneity was how they ended up at the sea, afternoon turning into night as the sun readies itself to set into familiar hues of orange and red and yellow. The sea’s winds carried her white summer dress in a contemporary dance, and if she wore the same red scarf as before, perhaps that scarf would have learned the moves as well. She tucks a strand of brown hair behind her ear, her shoes in one hand and a familiar smile plastered on her face as she stuck her feet in the sand, sinking into them only slightly.

Despite the intricacy of their journey, the trip was made in about an hour or so, the idea springing to her out of nowhere. Before he could even protest, she had already grabbed his hands (hers were warm and soft, by the way) and told her siblings that she was going out for a bit with her _friend_ , laughing as she did so. This girl was troublesome in her desires…but it was a nice kind of troublesome. It was something he didn’t mind.

Still, knowing her, there must be a reason.

“Did we come here just to look at the sea?” Shintaro’s eyes wander over to Ayano in the most natural way possibly, searching for _some_ type of answer in the chocolate brown gaze she returned.

“Isn’t it pretty, Shintaro?” Her voice sounds genuinely curious, with that signature head tilt aiding in perhaps the cutest look of the year, but you didn’t hear that from him.

“It is, but…is that all to it?”

“I missed it.” She turned her eyes back to the ocean, the waves frolicking along the beach with its distinct sound and power. The water was blue, but not too blue, clear but not too clear; traces of seaweed and stray pieces of different types of shell show their faces with each relapsing wave, curious to see who could find them. “I hadn’t been here in a while, and it’s a nice change of scenery. Those two years, I had hoped to see something different — now I have. That’s all, really!”

She takes his hand for the second time that day, smile now playful as she tugs him towards the water, giggling with a childish aura descending upon her small but eighteen-year-old frame. She’s quite strong, but perhaps a part of him — well, maybe all of him — was letting him get pulled along, though his mouth said otherwise.

“Hey, hey — !”

She splashes into the sea with another carefree laugh, the feet he had reluctantly freed from his shoes soon entering the cold water along with her. He whines, reaching down to roll up his pants before she drags him farther and farther away from the dry beach, toes immersed in the wet sand and the lapping sea water beneath him.

She lets go of his hand (unfortunately), only to use her free hand to splash water at Shintaro. He looks at her with a scowl, with an unpleased gaze, but he knew it wasn’t going to work on her, not after all those years. Besides, he couldn’t keep that facade around her.

He splashes back with a slight smirk, and she yells, though it sounds more joyous that anything. Ayano splashes, he splashes back — a back and forth game with no clear rules, motives, or winners. For a second, they were children, soaking in the setting sun and the sea and the salty air all at once, as if nothing else truly mattered.

When they had worn themselves out, and when their clothes had been mildly soaked, she stops to look at Shintaro, grinning with some sort of conviction, of knowing that he wasn’t sure of. Not knowing what to make of her smiles — that much remained the same despite the passage of time.

“That’s also another reason. I wanted to see you have fun.” She puts her hands on her hips, nodding approvingly. “Those past two years…they’ve been tough on you, hasn’t it? I guess you could say this is my apology, my way of bringing back your youth to you…that sounds grown up, doesn’t it? The heat haze gives you a lot of time to think.”

“You don’t just miss the sea. You miss everything.”

“Hm?” The words catch her off guard for a second, and her smile softens — bittersweet, lined with a hint of concern. She looks past Shintaro’s shoulders for a moment, and then back to his eyes, gaze showing some sort of conclusion that turning away would not be wise. “Well…”

“Hey.” He takes off his red jersey and steps closer to Ayano, fighting off the waves and the gross seaweed just to do so. Though it was a bit wet, he drapes it over her, holding onto the sleeves and pulling her close in perhaps the one and only cool move he’ll accomplish in his entire life. “It’s okay to say that the time you spent there sucked. It’s okay to say that you felt awful. Don’t think that you have to go through all of that alone.”

She’s silent for a bit, a thoughtful look on her face as he drops his hands and she slips the sleeves of his jersey on. The jersey’s a bit roomy, a little too big for her; it’s large former small frame, but even so, she looks wonderful in it. She then reaches for his hands the third time, her grip tightening as she continues to ponder whatever it is her brain was processing.

Well, the third time’s the charm.

“I should be saying that to you.” Her smile is bright again, but genuinely, with a shy laugh escaping her lips for just a moment. “Let’s make a deal — we’ll work on that, okay? We have a lot of catching up to do.”

“Deal.”

“Ah, this date was a huge success then…” She sighs, but immediately perks up after she realizes her words. “That’s — it’s not — I don’t mean — ”

“Nah, you’re right.” He smiles back — alright, he’s done _two_ cool things in his life now. Wait, does it even count? “Date. It’s a date.”


End file.
